No. 4: Atlantic Energy Concepts

Almost a fixture on the Top Businesses list, Atlantic Energy Concepts has placed four times, reaching its highest mark this year.

For owner Brad Salamone, who founded the Maidencreek Township-based designer and installer of energy-efficient lighting and other products in 1994, its success is a function of saving its customers money.

That has enabled the company to make money: Atlantic has experienced revenue growth of about 20 percent annually for the last several years, Salamone said. One side effect of its success is that it has been able to add to its work force. It employs about 20 in its office and another 30 or so in the field.

As for the customers, they tend to be large entities - municipalities, school districts, colleges and universities - from Florida to New England and west to the Mississippi, and for them, the savings can be substantial.

"We approach them and look at existing lighting technologies and try to pair them up with newer technologies that are more energy efficient," Salamone said. "They pay for themselves through the energy savings they generate.

"Rising energy prices certainly make it easy for us to have conversations. Most of our work is in existing buildings, and we can show customers how they can save energy.

"So that current state of the energy industry has made those conversations more prevalent. It's an easier path to get to the CFOs or the people paying the bills."

Regulation of lighting products also has given the industry a boost, as has greater public awareness of energy efficiency, although he acknowledged that education and economics go hand in hand in promoting a buy-in from consumers.

"If you walk into a store and need a light bulb and can buy an incandescent one for 25 cents or a compact fluorescent for $2.50, you probably think it's more cost effective to buy (the cheaper one)," he said. "But if you had time to take a look at lifecycle costing, you might make a different decision."